My recent diary expressed the view I hold that the bullying bullhorn and gun-held evacuation going on in the city right now is designed to clear the city in order to “hide” the dead.
My instincts tell me there will be mass burials, with bodies being transported possibly outside of the city to be disposed of.
THe numbers of dead will be deliberately reduced.
The excuse of disease will be used for these mass burials.
Whole families have probably drowned, and, families are now spread so far apart that they will be ineffective in searching for their loved ones left behind.
When there is no one to speak up for the dead, the dead disappear.
Mayor Nagin is predicting a 5 to 10,000 body count. I believe he is underestimating the numbers of people that chose not to leave. In any event, a 4000 body count, for example, would have people saying that it “could have been much worse”.
With New Orleans residents scattered everywhere now with few resources, it will be difficult for them to lobby for their loved ones left behind.
Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, said on Meet the Press today that FEMA deliberately cut their emergency phone lines. I found this blog site with some info on the “jamming” of communications. I can’t verify any of this of course, but we must document this so that it can be investigated later.
Hearing one of our political leaders state that FEMA cut their emergency phone lines could be a turning point in exposing the agency for what it is: a bureaucracy mostly concerned with its own survival, and the survival of the powers that be that created it.
Given FEMA’s gross negligence and ineptitude, there is a very good reason to stop the flow of information.
And then, what better way to stop the flow of information than to empty the city of its last remaining residents, the “citizen observers” of this tragedy.
I know people holed up in their homes, some in the French Quarter which is high and dry, willing to stay to help in the cleanup and care of people and animals left behind. I know of people wanting to return as soon as possible to help also.
There are many reasons for hiding the numbers of dead: the more dead, the worse this administration looks, not that they need anymore deadly window dressing, what with the blood of thousands of Iraqis and Americans on their hands.
THink about it. Have we gotten any sort of count of Iraqi dead from this group of sanctioned killers?
The more dead, the more compensation to pay the families of the dead. The more dead, the more explaining of failed policies.
New Orleans is now the City of the Dead. I pray that she won’t become the City of the Disappearing Dead.
Update [2005-9-5 9:15:57 by duranta]: From contact with those still in the French Quarter, apparently the forced evacuations are heavily concentrated, at least for now, in the poor sections of the city. That is where most of the bodies are, and where there may be some still waiting to be rescued who are too weak to call for help.
This “rescue” operation has largely been a case of neighbors helping neighbors. There will be more deaths now if everyone is forced out.
BTW, I tried to update this diary last night at 2:00 am and was unable to access this site for 45 minutes. I finally gave up and went to bed. I had no trouble accessing any other site.
From that email on the evacuation targeting the poor:
Today has been insane and emotional, but I am happy to report that the
evacuation is not as drastic as it first appeared to be and we are much more
positive about our chances of getting into New Orleans.
After I sent out this morning’s update, I received a call from a friend letting
me know that he had just spoken to another friend, Mike, who is in the French
Quarter – and that no such thing was happening in the French Quarter. So the
good news is that these evacuations are not taking place throughout the city of
New Orleans. The bad news is that, yet again, it appears that the poorest,
mostly African-American neighborhoods are being targeted for this ‘special
treatment.’
I confirmed reports about the French Quarter myself when I spoke to Mike this
evening. The quarter is pretty quiet, and a group of 4 men there are cooking for
people at an evacuated hotel. Mike says they work in teams of two – two men stay
and cook while the other two run back to Missouri for more supplies. He says
this is the first relief in the form of food they have had – from a grassroots
operation, of course.
Update [2005-9-5 16:49:53 by duranta]:From WWLTV.com:
10:12: A.M. – Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard: I’m not surprised at what the feds say, they’re covering their butts. They’re keeping the body counts down because they don’t want to horrify the nation. It’s worse than Iraq, worse than 9-11. They just don’t want to know how many were murdered by bureaucracy.
10:10 A.M. – Broussard: I know what the body count is so far, but I won’t horrify the nation.
